'Defective' post-war housing to be removed in Somerset village
District councillors have given the green light to plans to remove the homes as part of a regeneration programme
District councillors have approved a scheme set to remove 'defective' post-war housing stock in Somerset.
It's to make way for better quality of housing, thanks to the North Taunton Woolaway Regeneration Programme, set to remove Woolaway homes from across the district.
These homes were built after the Second World War but then discontinued after the mid-1980s after research found the homes could 'suffer deterioration' thanks to being constructed with concrete, instead of more traditional materials.
The project is set to eventually deliver 228 high-quality council houses and a community centre in the Priorswood area of Taunton - with a similar, yet smaller-scale, project in the village of Oake given the green light too.
It's set to enable a better quality of life for tenants and help them lower energy costs.
Currently, the homes remain safe to live in, but since the 1984 Housing Defects Act no further homes of this construction can be built.
The council’s executive committee unveiled plans on July 20 to refurbished ten of the 12 Woolaway homes on Oake Acres in Oake, with the remaining two being demolished to make for four new-build properties.
The homes will be vacated in four stages, with existing tenants being temporarily rehoused – similar to what the council will be doing with the replacement of council houses on Coleridge Drive and Wordsworth Drive.
Council leader Federica Smith-Roberts spoke in favour of the proposals when the full council convened in Taunton on September 6.
She said: “This is about having social housing within a rural location and all the benefits this brings.
“We’ve been told before that we’re Taunton-centric as a council, and actually here we’re showing that we need social housing within our rural areas.
“By doing this we will be able to not only house more individuals by bringing these homes back into use, but by spending the money that we are, they will be carbon-neutral.
“We hope we will be able to house local people in the surrounding area in these homes. For me, it’s a real positive.”
Councillor Dave Mansell – whose Upper Tone division on Somerset County Council includes Oake – welcomed the scheme, including the use of heat pumps to reduce energy bills.
He said: “I’m pleased to see the heat demand comes down in these properties with the standard of insulations.
“The inclusion of heat pumps and solar panels is also important – there’s a lot of good things here.”
Councillor Roger Habgood added: “Thankfully, the council’s promise has been kept. We need to make sure these are delivered sooner rather than later.”
The council will announce a formal start date for the Woolaway scheme in the coming weeks.